Spatial-temporal differentiation of the coupling coordinated development of regional energy-economy-ecology system: A case study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Abstract The interaction between regional energy, economy and ecology system has the characteristics of high correlation and complexity. In-depth study of the relationship between the three systems is of great significance for regional sustainable development. In this paper, DPSIR (driving forces, pressures, states, impacts and responses) theory is innovatively introduced to analyze the coupling coordination mechanism among systems. On this basis, an evaluation system for the coupling coordination development of regional energy-economy-ecology system is proposed. A coupling coordination degree (CCD) evaluation model optimized by information entropy is further constructed, and the panel data of 11 provinces along the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2008 to 2017 are used for empirical analysis of this region. The results show that the development of the energy and economy systems in the YREB has strong similarities, while the evaluation values of ecology systems in the provinces mainly fluctuate or first descend then rise. The development of the ecology system is influenced by the development of energy system and economy system on the one hand, and also by regional policies on the other hand. The CCD on the time dimension is given priority to with fluctuations rise development momentum, on the spatial dimension is roughly east high and west low development pattern. And the main factors restricting the coupling coordinated development of the YREB are different in the east, central and west. The three eastern provinces all belong to the type of ecology lag, while the four provinces in the central region belong to economy lagged. The development of energy and economy systems in the four western provinces lags behind their ecology systems. In addition, this paper proposes optimal strategies for the provinces, in which the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River should reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP and accelerate the transformation from traditional economy to green economy. The downstream region should improve the ecological carrying capacity of the resources and environment, and promote the economic conversion rate of scientific and technological achievements. The research process and results show that the combination of DPSIR theory and CCD model can provide a general tool for determining the coupling coordinated effect between subsystems.